Fourways Traffic is the Worst in SA

Dear Mr Herman Mashaba,

We understand that you are a very busy man, and we would not be troubling you if our situation wasn’t so dire. We urge you to please assist us!

Over the last months, the traffic in the greater Fourways and Lonehill areas has reached critical levels. Due to the rapid and constant growth in the area, the roads in these suburbs   have worsened to create desperate congestion. The area is constantly gridlocked, which provokes negligence on our roads. It has become extremely hazardous for drivers, pedestrians and especially the children who use the sidewalks and roads daily, to walk to and home from school. We are concerned for the children’s safety, and worried that tragedy could strike at any time.

One of the main causes of the congestion is that the traffic lights in the area are constantly faulty. The Pointsmen that have been stationed at the affected intersections are trying their best, and we are all grateful for the work that they do, but there are not enough of them. In 2018 there has been a faulty traffic light at different intersections nearly every single day.

The taxis are also a very big concern. Due to the congestion and their need to obviously get their passengers to their destinations on time, they have resorted to unlawful behaviour. They drive on the pavements, traffic islands and even into oncoming traffic. What makes this worse is that there are no JMPD offers around to put an end to this behaviour.

We are concerned citizens, and have therefore put together a list of potential solutions to our traffic dilemma.

  • A Traffic Light Uptime-Downtime monitoring system to proactively alert when there is a faulty traffic light.
  • More Pointsmen.  (We only have 6 dedicated Pointsmen)
  • Stop the TAXIS travelling on the road shoulders. (Introduce garden Boulders, Barriers or Guard Rails along the side of the roads where the TAXIS travel)
  • Un-mountable curbs and traffic islands
  • Traffic violation monitoring, (Introduce either more JMPD staff / Traffic Deputies / Public Dash-Cam Reporting System)
  • Dedicated Taxi lanes if feasible  

Mr. Mayor, as you can see, our situation is dire and we urge you to please assist us!  

Yours truly,

 

Concerned citizens.